Scott Rounds

Behind every vodka tonic, dirty martini, or slippery nipple are the caring hands of a bar tender. During the hectic hours of the night, they are the order takers and drink servers who provide a generally enjoyable time which represents the atmosphere of the bar as a whole. Perhaps the most prominent image of the bartender has been a likable and extremely charming individual who is fun to talk to and also a great listener. However, despite their usual charming and laid back disposition, bartenders can lead quite stressful lives, especially when paired with 18 credit hours and a quarterly school system.

When last call finally rolls around at 2 a.m., everyone must leave the establishment. Bartenders, on the other hand, have to stay. The closing ritual requires ejecting the drunks, cleaning up, and counting every single penny earned. Chances are, the whole ordeal will take at least another hour, and at the back of that student bartender’s mind is that midterm tomorrow.

The most obvious reason to consent to this 4-a.m.-to-bed-8-a.m.-to-rise schedule is this: money. The possibility of earning large amounts of cold hard cash at the end of a busy work night is very appealing. But where a slow night with minimal clean-up might mean an earlier arrival home, it may also spell financial disaster.

The Works

“All week, everyone is looking forward to the weekend to go out, party, and unwind from the week before it. As a student bartender, though, if you want to make money, your weekend is filled with work,” remarked Mike Katz , a former student of RIT. “One of the smartest things a customer ever told me after I had told him I was contemplating changing my major from Finance to Hospitality was that I didn’t want to do that for one reason... ‘You’re working the hardest when everyone else is having the most fun.’”

As opposed to the Sunday night homework and cramming sessions most students are used to, Katz had to be at the bar on both this day and the following one. “If I made it to class on time or at all, I was usually far too tired to comprehend anything.”

Scott Rounds

Katz also chose to get certified at the Bartenders Professional Training Institute, by Jefferson Road. Nevertheless, certification simply proved to add to the level of stress. “During the certification, I attended my RIT classes during the day. [I had] 16 credit hours, Monday through Thursday, and then I went to BPTI from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday, as well. These days were definitely a bit rough, which is why, for anyone interested, I would suggest taking the course over the summer if you aren’t registered for classes, or over a break.”

The class certainly was intense, but thankfully for Katz, it lasted only two weeks and provided preparation for what was to come. It isn’t necessary to take a bartending class and be certified, but some bar owners require it. Some bartenders- to-be choose to jump directly into training, as was the case with Alyssa Armstrong, a third year Advertising and Public Relations transfer student. “I bartended [at Dub Land Underground] a couple of times and then, after maybe three or four times, one of their bartenders was fired. So they asked me if there was any way that I could come in every night...I served as a server for three years, so it wasn’t like I was completely clueless. I knew what [ingredients were] in certain things just [from] being a server so long,” noted Armstrong.

Such is also the case with fourth year Advertising and Public Relations student Robin Hayes, who happened to stumble upon bartending through a friend. “She just asked me if I wanted to bartend and I was more than ecstatic, and so grateful that [the bar’s owner] was willing to let us work even though we had no idea what we were doing,” recalled Hayes. “The most interesting experience was our opening weekend.

I had no idea what I was doing and the bar was packed. I learned everything by trial-and-error and by just jumping into it. I would joke around with customers asking them if they knew what was in the drink, as if I was testing them. When, in reality, I had no idea what was in the drink.”

Each bar is usually equipped with a guidebook describing how to make just about every mixed drink imaginable. It serves as a helpful guide for those first learning to bartend. Even so, seasoned bartenders are often met by puzzling questions of mixology. “It took me maybe…three months before I was totally comfortable with making drinks. I’m still learning, because there are so many drinks... It doesn’t matter what manuals you have, people are going to have different shots,” noted Armstrong.

The Balance

A common problem in the world of bartending students is the thought of cutting out school entirely. A late-night Friday shift more than makes up for the cash-flow of most other weeknights. This sometimes leads some to the belief that perhaps the money made from bartending may bring about more than the career for which their degrees are aimed. Accordingly, academics often ends up taking a back seat.

Dave Londres

When asked if his academics suffered at all during his time as a bartender, Katz replied, “Big time... it really got in the way of a lot of things; and things like double shifts, or open-to-close shifts left me too tired to even contemplate classes and school work. There were still days during the week that work didn’t affect, but those days were for classes. Soon, it got to a point where I was either at work, or in class, 60 plus hours a week.” Hayes added. “It’s just hard to keep up sometimes. You just look at the kid next to you who got a higher grade and think, ‘Well, he didn’t just work 30 hours this weekend.’”

Of course, all this leads to stress, an important emotion every bartender (or prospective bartender) must learn to keep in check. “It’s always stressful, but letting it get to you just creates more stress, and that’s exactly what you don’t want,” noted Hayes. “You just have to be able to juggle time really well and understand that days off don’t mean play time. They mean homework and studying.” Or, as Katz delicately puts it: “Just suck it up and deal with it!”

The Perks

Despite the stressful combination of work and school, it seems as if these bartenders enjoy being kept occupied. The monetary incentive surely helps. “Financially, it was def initely worth it,” said Katz. “Slow shifts and day shifts can be awful, but a really busy Friday night can more than make up for it. One week, my Friday night tips were close to $350, which was more than my Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday tips combined.”

“I have met some amazing people, learned true dedication, and [that] sometimes it is worth it to be busy. I am never really bored. There is always something going on with me,” said Hayes. “I love my job so much that on my nights off, I normally find myself there hanging out with everyone.” With a reminiscent smile, she added, “I am really close with everyone there; they treat you like family.” Last call after last call, these are the students who are able to manage it all: the quarterly school system, the high double- digit credit hours, and the cumbersome late nights.